Last week, the United Nations General Assembly elected new members to the International Law Commission (ILC), a United Nations body charged with promoting “the progressive development of international law and its codification”. The International Law Commission, which was created by the General Assembly and began its work in 1949, is composed of thirty-four individual expert members of distinct nationalities who identify and
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Live Webcast of UN Committee Against Torture Sessions on Germany, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Belarus and Greece
Five non-governmental organizations (Alkarama, Amnesty International, the Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF), the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) and the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT)) have collaborated to jointly webcast the 47th session of the Committee Against Torture (CAT), a United Nations treaty body. [OMCT press release] The Committee, which is charged with monitoring State compliance with the Convention against Torture and Other
Read moreECHR Decisions in Torture Cases (Article 3) : July 2011
Cases compiled by IJRC contributor Carmi Lecker 1. Huseyn and Others v. Azerbaijan: Criminal proceedings against four opposition activists for allegedly inciting demonstrators to violence were unfair In Huseyn and Others v. Azerbaijan (application nos. 35485/05, 45553/05, 35680/05 and 36085/05), the European Court of Human Rights found the application inadmissible on the merits where the applicants’ allegations of torture and poor
Read moreIain Byrne
Iain Byrne is an international human rights lawyer with over 25 years of experience of working in the field. He is a founding member of the IJRC Board of Directors. Since November 2011 he has worked at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in the Economic and Social Justice (previously the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR)) team. For four
Read moreUN Human Rights Council Session Brings International Scrutiny to Iran, Cote d'Ivoire; Supports LGBTI Rights, Religious Freedom
As its sixteenth regular session drew to a close last week, some have begun hailing the renewed vitality of the Human Rights Council. See, e.g. Dokhi Fassihian, Is the U.S. Prepared to Win at the UN Human Rights Council? We Just Did, The Huffington Post (Mar. 26, 2011); Frédéric Burnand, Human Rights Council Witnesses ‘Turning Point’, Swissinfo.ch (Mar. 25, 2011); Robert
Read moreHRW: Hungarian Court Authorizes Gay Pride March Extension
Human Rights Watch has reported that the Budapest Metropolitan Court decided on February 1 “to allow an extended route for a gay pride march” planned by the Rainbow Mission Foundation for June 18, 2011. The extended route will bring the 2011 Budapest Gay Pride March past the Hungarian parliament building. The Budapest police had denied the extension earlier this month.
Read moreBelarus Urged to Release Journalists and Politicians as First Protester Sentenced to 4 Years
Political protester Vasily Parenkov has been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for breaking a window in the Belarus parliament building in the mass protests following the reelection of President Alexander Lukashenko in December. [AFP; The Economist] Critics say that such vandalism crimes should carry a much lighter sentence. Over 40 other opposition leaders and activists have also been charged in
Read moreNews Clips – October 25, 2010
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights begins holding hearings today in its 140th Period of Sessions. Issues to be discussed today include the Situation of Environmentalists in Mesoamerica, and Discrimination against the Transsexual, Transgender, and Transvestite Population in Brazil. See the week’s schedule of hearings here. Webcast of some hearings is available here. The role of humanitarian aid in contributing
Read moreNews Clips – September 20, 2010
In a heartbreaking blow to Afghan hopes for peace, several U.S. soldiers are under investigation for murdering at least three Afghan civilians last year as part of a rogue “kill team” that was allegedly formed when a staff sergeant who had served in Iraq in 2004 joined the platoon stationed in Kandahar province. [Washington Post] The French Senate has approved
Read moreNews Clips – through Sept. 14, 2010
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Syria welcomes its first visit from a UN special rapporteur, the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, in a showing of increased participation with the UN Human Rights Council’s monitoring mechanisms, including its upcoming Universal Periodic Review. [The National; OHCHR] The Special Rapporteur estimates that 2 to 3 million people face food insecurity in
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